A/N: A big thank you to drygionus for letting me use her Vlad and Robin - taken from 'Echoes and Memories'. I recommend you all go read her stuff, as it's well written and very enjoyable. Enjoy the chapter!

As he prepared for sleep that night, Robin felt himself wondering what his younger self would think of him currently. Back when he was 14, he would have never seen his life taking the direction it had; let alone having gone through what he had been through mentally. Would he be impressed, or would he be annoyed? Worried, or even scared of what Robin was going through. With this wondering came another line of thought, one of which Robin had actually thought more than he would care admit, but still... It was a simple enough thought, basic in its structure, but its implications could be larger than he could properly comprehend: what if Vlad had never managed to 'bring back' Will?

Robin wasn't quite sure, today of all days, the thought had re-entered his mind, especially right before he fell asleep, but it did enter it. To him, it seemed like a lot hinged on Will's revival, or was it just him thinking that because he hated the idea of Will remaining slain? He couldn't work out the correct answer to his query, and he highly doubted one actually existed. As such; it was uneasily that Robin drifted off to sleep, tossing and turning, with silent mutterings punctuating his usually still state.

"Robin, get up," he could hear Vlad say, sounding decidedly disinterested in whatever was going on. Robin opened his eyes slowly, his body felt tired, surely it wasn't morning already? He soon saw that it wasn't. "No, I don't know how we got... well, wherever here is," Vlad said, heading off the question that it was obvious Robin was about to ask. Robin instead just rolled his eyes at Vlad's automatic defensive stance, opting instead to look around the place they were both in. Something caught his eye, causing him to blink slightly in disbelief to make sure what he was seeing wasn't just a trick.

"Vlad," he said slowly, "why are the younger us standing over there?" Vlad blinked, turning to look in the direction Robin had pointed. Once he saw what Robin was talking about, he blinked again.

"More to the point, what the hell are you doing with my reflection?"

xXx

The younger Vlad looked around himself in a confused manner. The last thing he remembered was falling asleep in his coffin, wondering why Robin hadn't yet replied to his latest letter, and then he was, well, wherever 'here' was. It was quite, hm, void like was the only description that came to mind when he tried to think of a way of describing it. It was big, and it was a blinding white. He looked around, and a huge grin split his face. Just a little of the ways across from him was the boy who always had a way of creeping into his thoughts at the oddest of moments. Of course, seeing Robin there did make the younger Vlad wonder if he was just dreaming.

If he was it would explain perfectly why what appeared to be an older version of himself was storming over to them, looking murderous. "Get the fuck out of there, now," he growled at the younger Robin, who began to shake, his face pale and shining with sweat, his fringe sticking to his forehead. "I said get out." The older Vlad's voice rumbled, and then, there was a shimmering outline in the air, standing behind Robin in what the younger Vlad would swear was a menacing manner. "Now. Merge." It was an order, the younger Vlad knew that much, but it was the inhuman tinge to the older Vlad's voice which made his spine tingle unpleasantly. The shimmering figure froze for only a second, before diving towards the younger Vlad.

The younger Vlad dropped to his knees, screaming loudly with the pain, screaming with the images of the memories that were flashing in front of his eyes. All the things his reflection had made Robin do... How could he ever stand it?

"Vlad, what have you done?" the younger Vlad looked up, his eyes filled to the brim with tears, the result of the pain. He swore he could see an older Robin there too.

Clearly, he was going mad from merging.

xXx

"He looks like he's in a lot of pain," Robin said, helping his younger self off the ground. "...Was I really that pale?" he asked, inspecting the younger Robin's face. The older Vlad gave a glare, crouching down to watch his younger self fight with the reflection; his eyes turned an unmistakeable black. "Did it hurt that much for you?" The older Robin asked, looking at the two Vlad's with a hint of concern. The older Vlad frowned.

"I don't remember."

Thinking it best not to provoke him for an answer, the older Robin turned back to face his younger self. "You okay now?" he asked, smiling kindly and trying not to dwell on how odd it was to be talking to his younger self in what was, essentially, white space. "I know this all seems a bit odd, but I'm sure His Grandness will find time to inform us common breathers what's going on soon enough," he laughed lightly. The younger Robin's face paled, that is, if it were actually possible for it to turn any paler. "...You okay?" The younger Robin just stared at the older one, his eyes wide, and shaking with fear.

"It's a sort of withdrawal," the older Vlad answered the unspoken question. "He was possessed by a vampire reflection, and breathers, well, you can't handle that sort of power in you." There was a silence. "I don't think he thinks this is actually happening, and he's got a point, this is part of the Dream World after all."

"But I'm not 16 yet," the younger Vlad spoke up finally, sitting up slightly, looking exhausted. "I can't..."

"We're the Chosen One," the older Vlad snapped, his voice harsh, "the rules can go to hell as far as we're concerned." The younger Vlad looked very ... Well, Robin couldn't actually describe the look on his face, but he was suddenly reminded of two wolves fighting for the position of alpha in the pack.

"If the rules can do that," the younger Vlad said carefully, "then I don't need to go along with them." The older Vlad scoffed, and turned his head away from him.

"I don't think you were ever that bad," the older Robin said.

"That would be because they're not our younger selves." Off the older Robin's look, the older Vlad explained further. "Think those Elseworld comics Barry likes so much," he said, vaguely waving his hand, thinking it the best explanation he could probably give. "Something happened in their timeline to create a slightly different future path for them, diverting from the line we follow."

"You could have just said an alternative reality, you do know that right?" The older Robin said, shaking his head at the older Vlad. He didn't like to admit it, but the explanation did spark off a train of thought in his brain. What was it he had been musing on right before he had fallen asleep? He turned to look at the younger Vlad. "You didn't bring back Will, did you?" Both Vlad's blinked at this, turning to look at each other.

"You did?"

"You didn't? What are you? A glutton for punishment?"

"And here's the point I wish I didn't say anything," the older Robin sighed. The younger Robin blinked, staring at the older Vlad as though he were something completely alien to him, but still didn't speak. Robin wondered if he even wanted to know what it was that his younger self had been through. "Question we're not asking," he said out loud, drawing the two Vlad's away from their argument, "is how did they, I mean, how did any of us get here?"

"You, obviously," the younger Vlad said, "you stink of magic." The older Vlad groaned at this, clamping his hand quickly over the younger Vlad's mouth to shut him up.

"You don't stink of magic, but there's a trace of the smell there," he said quickly. "Just... get us out of here, okay?" He let go of the younger him. "If I'm right, you just caused as all to meet up in our dreams, hence our being in the Dream World." There was an uncomfortable pause.

"It means it'll come back to me," the younger Robin whispered. "I'll never get rid of him," he added, pulling his legs close to chest and wrapping his arms around them. The older Vlad kneeled in front of him.

"The other me will try to merge soon, now he knows, he'll try," he said softly, pushing at the younger Robin's fringe. "You just need to hang on a little bit longer."

xXx

Robin woke up with a start, grabbing at his covers. He stared at the wall in front of him for a few minutes, before his fingers ran up through his hair, clutching at his head. Was any of that real? Was it just his deranged mind running away with itself. There really was only one way to find out, he knew that, but it was daylight now. Vlad wouldn't be awake for hours. He lay back, and frowned up at the ceiling.

If the two versions of himself and Vlad he saw were real, he only hoped it would work out for them soon.